disturbance from one Peet's personel
Reviewer: Christine
from San Luis Obispo, CA
Saturday 1/26 at about 5pm, a friend and I purchased some coffee drinks. The person who took our order was a young woman with short black hair. She was abrupt and not courteous at all (no please, no thank you or anything like that). We got our coffee drinks and were sitting at the only available table which was close to the counter. After a few minutes, the young woman dropped a few coffee beans and proceeded to vacuum the counter. It lasted so long that I stood up to see how much more vacuuming was needed. There was nothing, she was just vacuuming a clean counter top, over and over again. It was our impression that she was doing it on purpose to be annoying, maybe because she was having a bad day. It was impossible for us to carry on a conversation. Needless to say that after 15 minutes, since there was no end to the noise, we left.
Possible solution: Have a talk with that young woman regarding customer service skills. Limit the vacuuming of the counter top to 5 minutes if it has to be done during business hours.

Another Coffee Chain
Reviewer: Glenda J.
from Ventura, CA
My second visit to Peet's Coffee & Tea was much like the first. The coffee is horrible. I'm not sure what you're doing wrong. But, I have a suggestion or two that might help, if you're interested. Regarding the people loitering outside; call the police(that's what they're for). Clean all of your equipment inside and out at least twice per day. Take lessons from a more humble life coach. You, as a minimum wage coffeemaker(you haven't earned the title of "Barista")aren't that good at what you are doing. Give yourself time. I'm not a S.B. local, but, I do have a Peet's in my town with worse problems. They won't listen, either. Maybe I'll be back. Probably not.

SIMA closed the restrooms, Peet's didn't own them...
Reviewer: Dave
from Santa Barbara, CA
I work very close to Peet's and am in almost every day. I too was told about the restroom situation... the bathrooms did not belong to Peet's; rather, Sima, the property manager, closed the bathrooms (located in the courtyard behind Peet's... not in Peet's) on the day of the Christmas parade.
Anyhow, the matter is now a thing of the past: Peet's has remolded their employee restroom into a customer restroom.

Closed restrooms to customers at Christmas
Reviewer: Chris
from Santa Barbara, CA
This review is a bit late, but it's been bugging me. During the Christmas Parade on State Street, I waited 30 minutes in line for a hot cuppa and heard the server tell the lady in front of me (AFTER she'd ordered food and drink) that the restrooms were closed during the parade.
I can understand closing the restaurant during the parade, or closing restrooms to non-customers during the parade, but to close them to paying customers, and not even post it, is inexcusably callow and possibly illegal.
This woman spent lots of money; chose Peets because it had a clean restroom in which to care for her baby's needs, and, after spending her money, was stuck there with no alternative. I for one will never ever buy Peets coffee unless I hear from them that this was an error that will never be repeated.
I used middle ratings because the quality of food was fine, it is the management that deserves a negative rating.

Inconsistent Freddos - bad news
Reviewer: jinelle
from Santa Barbara, CA
Okay Peets, what are you doing to me. Every time I go in now I get a totally different Freddo. They used to be loyalty building sublime and now they are totally inconsistent, overly-sweet, whimpy, drippy and lacking that extra bite of those divine flavor enhancing tiny, little crispy coffee bits. Whatever the old management was doing after you opened but top rate, but now it is all over the place and never as good. But at least you started cleaning up the patio. You should be able to do it all: clean patio and consistently wonderful, fulsome and flavorful Freddos. Check with the original opening manager and see what he was doing right (except leaving his front patio filthy, which you have corrected somewhat). You were nice enough to give me a refund on one but I am not going to ask for redo's each time I get a bad one. I want you to get back to doing them right --every time. Deal?

More Great Coffee in Town
Reviewer: Rudiger
from Santa Barbara, CA
I worship at the temple of the coffee goddess and Peet's is worthy of her presence. The reviewers who don't like the coffee may be used to the less aromatic weak brews at other nearby locations. Yes, the orders can be a tad slow, but I prefer this handcrafting to the assembly line down the street. Listen, the staff cannot police who sits in their front patio chairs anymore than they do at Starbucks or even the revered Coffee Cat. I find the staff friendly for the most part (give Dan a raise!) and look forward to the cast of characters inside -- from the peloton of bicycle riders, to the UCSB graduate students in front of their computers -- it is all good.

Fantastic!
Reviewer: Madison
from Santa Barbara, CA
They are always so good; I must say I come in nearly every day and have never had a bad experience. The staff is always super efficient but incredibly friendly and happy. The coffee is excellent whether you get regular coffee or a latté. It is totally worth it every time and they deal well with rushes, especially the morning time before work. And honestly 10 minutes is not long to wait for a great latté and, even then, I wouldn't say I have ever waited that long. Great work, guys!

Nice people and desserts, very poor latte
Reviewer: Glenn
from Buellton
Can't recommend this place over the bad chai latte. Good things are the desserts are good and there is an outside hidden courtyard with a fountain in the back that is nice.

Noticeable Improvement
Reviewer: Maisy
from Santa Barbara, CA
I decided to give this Peet's another chance after a four month hiatus. I was pleasantly surprised to find the location free of clutter and debris, the cashier was polite and professional and the barista was very polite as well. It still took quite awhile to get the coffee, but the cleanliness and staff's pleasant attitudes compensated for the wait.

love it-Staff still needs a bit of training
Reviewer: marla S Wilson
from Santa Barbara, CA
I love Peets and I have been a customer since 1967- this location is nice - though they do not have access to a bathroom -( an issue that the owner of the building better solve or they might find themselves without a tenant in a tenantless building) Because I will go to the other Peets till they solve that problem- but this and Santa Barbara Roasting are a small handful of places real coffee lovers have to get a java in Santa Barbara.
Most people know little about coffee roasting-or taste for that matter- (look at how many people vote Ihop as best pancakes!!) they would be better served at CB&TL or Starbucks- where the coffee is not roasted to it's full potential.
At Peets you don't get coconut emulsified trans fat chocolate flavored e lattes, you get the flavour of the coffee and they use dutch cocoa (have a look at the ingredients in the cocoa the competitors use) If you are a food person - you have to learn to appreciate good coffee. Don't even get me started on milk foaming - the huge air bubbles you find at the average coffee house are proof of the ineptitude of the baristas. I admit this one is not yet up to the quality level- I have had a couple of poorly steamed lattes- but with practice it should be resolvable.

Love Peet's coffee... location needs help.
Reviewer: Lorraine Wood
from Santa Barbara, CA
I am a fan of Peet's coffee and was so glad a location closer to my office opened.
Here are my suggestions:
1) For all the money put into renovating the space, more care needs to be put into maintaining it. Dirtiness, dustiness and disarray are unacceptable in a food establishment, especially one so new.
2) Do something about the homeless who camp out in the front patio. It is horrible to have to walk through the smell of unwashed bodies in order to get to the front door.
3) Train your staff on customer service. They never say hello, they rarely say thank you, and take FOREVER.

Bad Service, Mediocre Coffee
Reviewer: Francis
from Santa Barbara, CA
The services is really poor at this location; rude, disorganized employees. Possible understaffing, maybe? The coffee is so-so; always taste as if it is burnt. I would agree with the other reviewer regarding the cleanliness. Every time I have been to this location it has been dirty. I don't think I will be returning for a long, long, long time.